


My Best Friend's Boyfriend

by acid_and_oil (orphan_account)



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M, M/M, Time Travel, University
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-11-30 22:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11473002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/acid_and_oil
Summary: Just who was Danny Fenton named after?Pairing: past time (time-traveling Danny x college Vlad)Mostly Jack's POV





	1. October 2007

“You are a hero, Danny. I’m so proud of you”. Jack Fenton was sitting on the couch with his son. “I’m so sorry for all of the times that your mother and I made things harder for you”.

“It’s okay, Dad. You guys didn’t know. To you, I was just another ghost”.

It was two months after the Disasteroid incident. Jack Fenton now knew that his son was a half ghost superhero. He knew that all that all of the times that he and his wife had chased after Phantom, they had been hunting their own son. As proud as he was of his son for protecting Amity Park, he was filled with guilt and horror and what he had wanted to do to Phantom, and what he would have done to his own son if they had been successful.

“We’ve already talked about this, Dad. I forgive you and Mom”.

Jack smiled bravely, bracing himself for what he was about to say.

“Hunting you is not the only thing I should apologize to you for, Danny”.

Danny looked up at his father, a quizzical expression on his face.

“Plasmius”, the large man said, “Vlad. He was hurting you. I should have seen it. You told me that you didn’t like him, and that he was crazy, and I didn’t listen to you, son. I kept trying to make you get along, I kept defending him, and leaving you two alone together. I thought he was my best friend, and I never realized how twisted that man was. I’m so sorry, Danny”.

The look of grief and guilt on his father’s face made Danny feel as though he may cry.

“Hey, Dad, it’s okay. You didn’t know. Vlad was a manipulative Frootloop. You had no way of knowing that he was in love with Mom, and that he wanted me to be his son. You didn’t know he was half ghost. Vlad was good at keeping up appearances and playing people. You only saw what he wanted you to see”.

Jack gave a small smile. “I knew that he was flirting with your mother, Danny.”

“You did?” Danny was surprised. It’s not like Vlad was exactly subtle, but his father was often oblivious, and had also never seemed protective or offended.

“Yes”. Jack frowned. “I just never took it seriously. Vladdie had been through a lot, even before the accident, and I really should have been there for him. I thought that flirting with Maddie, with your mother, was his way of trying to move on, of trying to pretend that he never happened. Over-compensating.”

“Over-compensating?” Danny was confused. “Wait, you let your best friend flirt with your wife?”

Jack sighed. “Danny, has your mother ever told you who you were named after?”

Who he was name after? Now Danny was even more confused. He looked down, chewed his lip, and thought for a moment. “It was an old friend of yours or something, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. Danny Aldrin was a friend of ours in college. He just showed up out of nowhere on campus one day”. Jack’s face was fond with nostalgia. “He fit right in, D-Drin did. Even ended up rooming with Vlad and I for a while. That’s what I called him, D-Drin. Everyone else just called him Danny”. Jack’s face fell a little, in thought. “Come to think of it, that’s probably why Vlad insisted on calling you Daniel”.

“So Vlad and Danny Aldrin were close?” Aldrin, thought Danny. Like the astronaut Buzz Aldrin?

“Danny, they were in love. I’d never seen Vlad any happier than he was when he was with D-Drin. They kind of hated each other at first, I think, but then they were inseparable. They were like two halves of a whole, I used to think, Danny. But then he just disappeared after two years. It was a couple of weeks before the proto-portal accident. He was devastated, hurt and lonely. That’s when he started to flirt with your mother, and with other woman, too. He refused to talk about D-Drin, refused to acknowledge that he liked men. That’s why I ignored it when he put the moves on your mom”.

Jack and Danny sat side by side on the couch in silence for a little while. Jack stood up suddenly. “Ooh! I think I have an old picture of the four of us! Wanna see?” Jack made his way to his and Maddie’s bedroom, leaving Danny to think. 

After far too long, Jack came back, empty handed. 

“Sorry, son, couldn’t find the photo. Come to the kitchen, and we can have some fudge.”

Jack Fenton shared the chocolate dessert with his son in complete silence. Silence was unusual for the man, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He hadn’t been truthful with his son about the photo. Jack had found it. It was tucked away in an envelope of photos, concert tickets, his graduation program, and other mementos from his college days.

He hadn’t looked at the photo in maybe ten years, hadn’t really thought too much about his long-lost friend’s appearance in a while. Of course it wouldn’t of raised any questions before. But tonight, looking at the old photo had caused Jack a great deal of alarm. Jack was there, in his mullet and orange jumpsuit. Maddie was next to him, smiling with her big hair and flashy earrings. No surprises there. But next to them, with one arm around Maddie’s shoulder, one hand ruffling Vlad’s gray streaked black hair, was his son. 

His hair was longer than it was now, his face sculpted with age, and dark stubble on his chin, but the young man in the photo, the man whose lips were pressed against a slightly flustered and completely in love Vlad Master’s cheek, was unmistakably Danny Fenton. Jack’s eyes trailed down to the necklace that D-Drin had always worn, the bronze cog-shaped medallion, emblazoned with the blue letters, “CW”. 

He couldn’t show this to his son. He just sat there, and ate his fudge.


	2. September 1982

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is September of 1982. Best friends Jack, Vlad, and Maddie just started their Junior year at The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

September 1982

The year was 1982, and his life was pretty good. He was 20 years old, and attending college on a scholarship. His grades were good in the classes that applied to his engineering major. He wasn’t stupid, he just had a hard time focusing on things that were outside of his interests. He also had some trouble relating to other his age, but he had two close friends, Vladdie and Maddie, who really seemed to get him, and he felt extremely thankful and blessed to have them in his life.

Yes, Jack’s life was pretty good.

He finished his walk over to where he was meeting his friends. There was little coffee shop and cafe on campus called Badger Eats. The school mascot, a badger, was smiling down from the sign at Jack. He smiled back, and opened the door.

“Maddie! Vladdie!” Jack found their table and sat down There was another person sitting next to Maddie whom he did not recognize. “And who is this?” he asked, nodding to the black-haired woman.

“Oh hello, Jack!” greeted Maddie, “This is my new roommate, Harriet Chin. I invited her to come have dinner with us.”

“Here there, Harrie, nice to meet you!” Jack extended a large hand. “Any friend of Maddie’s is a friend of mine!”

Harriet took Jack’s hand, and looked down a little. “Nice to meet you! I don’t really like being called ‘Harrie’ though…”

The woman’s discomfort was lost on Jack. He didn’t mean any harm, but he often didn’t pick up on social cues like that. In his mind, he was making her feel welcome and included by giving her name the same treatment he gave to his other friends. 

Jack ordered a Colby cheeseburger, and the table got a basket of fried cheese curds to share. Jack was trying to think of something to say to Harrie. He wanted to make her feel welcome, but he didn’t always know what to say to new people. He tended to go on and on about his own passions, like ghosts and inventions, and he knew that most people found it off-putting.

Through the meal, Jack discovered that Harrie was a journalism major. She was a junior, and set to graduate in the class of 1984 like the other three were. She was 19 years old, and gunning for a future career in television journalism. She was from California, and did not believe in ghosts.

After their meal, Maddie and Harriet left for their dorm together.   
“The three of you really believe in ghosts?”

“ Jack and Vlad do. I’m not going to say I believe before I can prove it. That would be dis-service to both the scientific and paranormal communities. But yes. I hypothesize that ghosts exist.”

Harriet didn’t really seem that interested. She changed topics. “So you and Vlad, huh?”

“What about me and Vlad?”

“Come on, Maddie! He obviously likes you. He called you ‘my dear’ like three times, and he paid for your dinner!”

“What? No way! That’s just Vlad for you. He’s a little theatrical sometimes. And he only covered my dinner because I paid for his breakfast last week. Vlad is just a dear friend.”

Harriet was always on the hunt for gossip and stories. It was the journalist in her. 

Meanwhile, Vlad and Jack were walking back to their dorm from the diner as well. It was late September. The temperature was in the early 60’s. The friends were both in light sweaters. They walked pretty slow, just talking and enjoying each others company. 

“I’m really glad that your my friend, Vladdie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad that I was encouraged to add more to the story. This was both fun and challenging to write. I struggled with how to make it different than the other time travel Pompous Pep stories, which is why it was originally just going to be a one shot, but I think I came up with something. We will see!


	3. October 1982

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> October 1982. Jack, Maddie, and Vlad learn of the ghost zone, attend a Halloween party, and meet a someone new.

It was October. The air was cooling down, and the first quarter of school was coming to a close. There was one thing on Jack Fenton’s mind, and that was ghosts.

“The veil is thinning, my friends!” He pulled out an old looking leather-bound book with a metal clasp. He open to a page, and shoved the thing under Vlad’s face.

The ancient thing smelled musty, and made Vlad cough. “Where do you even find this type of stuff?”

“It belonged to my witch-hunter ancestor I told you about.” It was a research journal, and had been written by John Fenton Nightingale in the late 1600’s. “Read it.” Vlad could hear the excitement in his best friend’s voice. He rolled his eyes and began to read out loud.

“In the tenth month of the year, the veil betwixt the world of the living and The World Of Preternatural fall thin. Tales have been told of a vortex which opens wide this unnatural gate.” Vlad looked up, and gave Jack a big hug. This was huge.

The following weekend, Maddie, Vlad, and Jack were sitting at Badger Eats, having dinner and discussing their research. The three had gone over all of John Nightingale’s notes on the World of Preternatural, as well as anything else they could dig up on it at museums or in the library.

“So Jack and I were discussing it, and we think there is a good chance that one of the vortexes that leads to the Ghost Zone is somewhere in the central united states.” Vlad took a sip of his soda.

“You mean allegedly leads,” corrected Maddie. She still tried to keep a proper amount of scientific bias, even though she really did feel that ghosts existed. “Wait.” The woman just realized what Vlad had said. “Did you just call it ‘The Ghost Zone’? Is that what we are calling it now?”

“Well, yes,” Vlad pouted. “Saying Ye Olden Worlds of Thee Preternatural over and over is tiresome. ‘Ghost Zone’ is more hip.”

“I agree with Vladdie.”

“Well,” Maddie conceded, “Ghost Zone does have a more more modern ring to it. Ghost Zone it is.”

The trio had decided to try to isolate the exact area and conditions that were thought to be necessary to open the vortex that led to the Ghost Zone. Jack figured that even if it didn’t work, they could still learn a thing or two, and he would get to go on an adventure with his two best buds.

Based on family stories and research, Jack knew that the Fenton-Nightingale side of his family had slowly moved more toward the west over the years. They finally settled down Illinois in the mid 1800’s. He had an ancestor named Jacob Fenton who was obsessed with hunting and proving the existence of river serpents and paissa folk. A fascination with the unknown seemed to be trait that was very common in Jack’s family history.

The next Friday the friends were discussing the Ghost Zone again. They had been doing research on paranormal stories that had been reported in October over the years. Jack had even taken needle-point lessons from an elderly woman who known Jack’s great grandfather Jeremy Fenton when she was a girl. Jack ended up enjoying needle-point as a hobby, plus he had learned some useful information.

“The stories all of the same thing in common. There are always purple and green clouds in the sky. The creatures are said to look like floating humanoids with discolored skin.”

“Don’t forget the sticky sap-like residue that is often found at the scene.” Maddie had a great interest in ecto-plasm. It would be physical evidence, and Maddie would love to test it.

That upcoming Sunday was going to be Halloween. Maddie, Jack, and Vlad had been invited to a Halloween party thrown by Harriet’s boyfriend, Tom on Saturday night. 

The group went to the party together. They showed up at Tom’s off-campus apartment and rung the doorbell. Harriet answered. “Oh hello! Maddie! Vlad! I’m glad you two could make it!” She paused. “Jack…” Then she ushered them inside.

Vlad was dressed as Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, complete with a cape, talcum powder on his face, and a set of false fangs he bought at the five and dime store. Vlad was a big fan of the Universal Studios monster movies that came out in the 40’s and 50’s. It was something that he shared with father, before he passed away, and something that he had in common with Jack. His best friend had even embroidered little red bats on the cape, thanks to his needle-point skills.

“Hello, Harrie Chin! Thanks for inviting us! I’m a Jack O’ Lantern, get it?” The large man was wearing an orange jumpsuit that he had embroidered with a black smiling face made of triangular features. Jack was so pleased with himself. He was festive and made a pun. For some reason, Jack always liked words that had his name in them.

Maddie was wearing an Edwardian style black dress, and had her auburn hair tied back. She carried around an unused beaker, and using it as a drinking glass. She was dressed as one of her idols, the scientist Marie Curie. 

Jack was kind of uncomfortable at the idea of a party with people he didn’t really know at first, but he soon found out that people didn’t seem to mind hearing about ghosts. It was Halloween, after all. Jack was telling a cowboy and a super-heroine about the research they had done about the ghost zone, and how a natural gateway was said to open to it every October. The couple was buzzed, and hanging onto his every word with complete and utter fascination. 

“Of course I’m disappointed that we couldn’t find any leads on where the vortex is going to be this year. There is always next year.” Jack was the type to go with the flow, for the most part. 

“How can you tell where the portal-thing is going to be?” the super-heroine asked.

Jack furrowed his brow. “Well, from the research, there is usually a drop in the barometric pressure. It’s unseasonably cool. There are also green and purple clouds…”

“Oh, come on!” Harriet interpreted. “He’s only saying that because the sky looks kind of purple and green right now. I was just outside with Tom. It is really pretty, actually, but it’s just something that happens this time of year. Jack is just being Jack and messing with you.”

Maddie wasn’t sure if she should defend Jack or not. She wanted to, but she also didn’t want to mess thing up with her roommate. She decided to defuse the situation by removing herself from it. “Come on, Jack. Let’s go outside and check out those clouds.”

Vlad was busy being flirted at my a buxom woman dressed as a bee. Jack and Maddie left him and went out to the parking lot. They saw the purple and green clouds, swirling over head at a distance. 

“Its right above the university!” Jack and Maddie ran as fast as they could back to campus. They were out of breath and panting, when they realized what building the clouds were above. It was the dorms were Jack and Vlad housed at. The two just stared up at the swirling purple and green, transfixed. 

Maddie dumped the alcoholic punch out of the beaker that she still had with her. She began to scrape a green slime that was on the brick of the building, and put it inside the glass.

They both heard the sound. It was like an oncoming train. It started low, and came in, louder and louder. There was rush of hot, stale air, and shimmering twist of purple springs and cogs and gears descended from the sky. The strange cyclone touched down in a lot next to the dormitories. Jack and Maddie, still in costumes, rushed over to where it landed. The vortex itself had disappeared, but there was a cloud of dust and smoke. Jack coughed on it a few times, but trudged forward. There was a small crater in the parking lot. Jack could smell melted tar. Inside of the ditch, he saw a figure, lying in the hole, trying to get up.

“Oh my goodness Jack! It’s a man! We have to go help him!” Maddie leap into action, leading Jack into the ditch. Jack hoisted the man up and brought him to sit on the ground. The man was awake, but very much out of it. He seemed disoriented, and possibly drunk. His height was hard to tell, but he was a man of a slender build, with shaggy black hair, and pale skin. He appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties. When he looked up at Jack Fenton, he did so with baby blue eyes. 

“Where am I?” He looked over at Maddie, eyes raking over her period dress. “Oh, no what time is it?”

Jack looked at his watch. “About quarter of eleven. Who are you? What just happened? Are you okay? There was ghost tornado that landed on top of you!”

“ I’m fine, I’m fine. Just had too much to drink, I guess? I don’t remember too much.”

“My name is Maddie. Do you go to school here? Do you want us to walk you to your dorm, or take you to the hospital? It looks like you may have hit your head?” The woman went closer to gingerly touch the man’s head. She wrinkled her nose as she got closer. The man did smell like he’d been drinking. Something strong, and in large quantities, by the smell of things.

The man got up quickly. “No, no hospitals. I’m fine, really. I don’t really remember. I know I’m supposed to be looking for someone? I need answers” The man stumbled on his feet. Maddie and Jack helped him walk inside the building. They brought him to Jack and Vlad’s room. Vlad was still out. He must have been having a good time at the party, Jack thought. Maybe he ending up hitting it off with that bee woman after all.

Maddie got the man a glass of water. He drank it all down in three gulps, and spoke. “My name is Danny.”

Danny told Jack that he was from Michigan, but that he couldn’t go back, at least not right now. He said that he was going through a lot of personal stuff, and had been out drinking when that tornado thing had carried him away and dropped him off at the college. He listened when Maddie and Jack talked, and never once judged them for mentioning ghosts. 

Maddie and Jack went off by themselves for a moment to discuss things. Jack wanted to let Danny spend the night. It was almost midnight, and the guy was stranded. Maddie wanted to talk to him more in the morning. He was an important material witness to what was likely a paranormal phenomenon. She still had her slime sample, and was interested in maybe talking samples from Danny’s clothing and skin as well. 

Jack let Danny know he could stay. Maddie ended up leaving to go back to her dorm for the night. It was just Jack and Danny now.He got a blanket out for him, and was getting him set up on the couch. Danny took a shower, and was wearing one of Jack’s over sized shirts for pajamas. 

Just then, the door opened, and a slightly irritated Vlad came walking it. “I can’t believe you and Maddie just left me there! There were so many people, and I did not know where you went. This woman I barely knew was making advances, and-” Vlad stopped when he saw the unknown man in the living room, wearing nothing but a necklace, boxers, and one of Jack Fenton's shirts. He smiled. “And who is this? I take it back, I didn’t realize you left with someone! I’m happy for you, Jack.”

Vlad grabbed Jack’s hands. He was obviously a little drunk, and obviously off the mark, but it warmed his heart to know his friend would be so supportive of him if he was gay.

“You know you’ll always be my best friend, right Jack? No matter what you do, or who you are, or who you love, you will always and forever be my best friend.” 

That was the moment when Danny punched Vlad Masters in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun to write, and also took a really long time. I personally feel like it came out much better written than the second chapter did. I'm hoping to get better as I write? I really like doing it, but MBFBF is the most ambitious thing I've written in a long time, so I'm not sure how it will turn out. Oh well, I'm just going to write it anyway for practice and fun, and hope that a few other people end up liking it, too.


	4. Halloween 1982

Halloween 1982

Jack Fenton woke up, and looked at the digital alarm clock that was on the dresser between his and Vlad beds. 5:00. Why was he awake at five AM? And why did it feel like he had only gotten a couple hours of rest? The large man looked up to see his best friend looming over his bed. His arms were cross, and a bruise was visible on the left cheek of his stern face.

“He’s still here.”

“What?” Jack didn’t normally have a problem with mornings, but he preferred to wake up naturally or by an alarm, and he didn’t get much sleep.

“That violent drunkard! I want him out of our dorm. You said you’d make him leave first thing in the morning, and it is first thing in the morning. Wake him up and make him leave!”

“Oh, alright Vladdie. Hold your horses, I’m getting up.” Jack got out of bed and grabbed his clothes. “Do you mind leaving so I can get dressed?”

“I am not going out there until that cretin is gone. I don’t want to get accosted again. We’ve been best friends for two years now Jack, I’ve seen your pasty fat butt before, just hurry and up and get up and get him out of here.”

Jack finished getting dressed and headed out to the main room. It had a small living room area with a couch and a small black and white television, as well as tiny kitchenette. There was no dining area, they usually just ate on the couch and coffee table, or else they just went to the dining hall or Badger Eats. 

Jack sighed. He understood why Vlad wanted Danny out of the dorm, but he hadn’t planned on leaving this early. He still needed to meet up with Maddie to get tests done and question the man.

Jack bent over the sleeping man and gently shook his shoulder. “Hey,” he said, “time to wake up.”

Danny opened his icy blue eyes and grabbed his head. He must have a woozy of a headache, thought Jack. The man had seemed pretty drunk the night before, and had been hit by a paranormal tornado of some kind. But still, Jack had an objective here.

“Dad?” the man asked.

“What? No, it’s me, Jack. From last night? I know it’s early, but we have to go meet up with Maddie. She’s wants to run some tests and ask some questions about that tornado thing.”

Danny’s eyes opened wide, and he stood full up. Jack gave him the clothes he had worn last night back. He had been intending to wash them before they left that morning, but now he didn’t have the time.

Jack and Danny walked over towards Maddie and Harriet’s dorm. The sun wasn’t up yet, but it would be soon. The air was cool, and not just the weather. Jack was excited that he had witnessed some type of ghost activity, but he was distressed that Danny had punched his best friend. If it wasn’t for the testing and questions, Jack probably would have Vlad kick him out that night. Well, maybe not if he had no where else to stay, but still. 

They arrived at the dorm building. The door was locked since it was so early. Only residents of that building would have the key. Jack and Danny headed over to a bench maybe 20 feet away, but on the other side of the building to wait it out. Danny got up, and told Jack to wait on the bench. He came back a little while later, and said that he had been able to find someone to open the door.

Jack and Danny went inside. The hallway was dark. They were probably there too. Early, Jack realized. These sorts of things didn’t always occur to him right away. Jack knocked on the door a few times. Maddie opened the door, and hushed Jack when he started to speak.

“Harriet's going to be so pissed if you wake her up. You’re lucky I woke up early.” The three of them left to go back to the bench to sit down. “Where’s Vlad? Did he make it home alright?” Maddie asked. “I feel so bad for just leaving him there, but I had to get out and see those clouds.”

Both of the men shifted uncomfortably, which Maddie noticed, but did not comment on. “He decided not to come.” said Jack. 

“Alright. So Danny, what do remember about last night? What was going on before you got hit by that tornado thing? What happened during it? Did you see anything else unusual?”

“Well, I don’t really remember too much of yesterday. Maybe the tornado thing scrambled my brains? All I know is that I was pretty upset about something, and I had been drinking. I’ve been kind of going through a personal crisis-type situation, I’ve been kind of hitch-hiking around, crashing on couches, that sort of deal.”

When the student lab space opened, they went there to study the ectoplasm. Maddie ended up looking at it under microscope, as well as testing the effects of exposure to different substances. It was a little early to tell the results of some of the tests, but so far the substance seemed to strongly resemble blood, although it clearly not like any human or animal blood she was aware of.

Jack and Danny weren’t really talking. Maddie decided to try to break the ice a little. “So Danny, what part of Michigan are you from?” 

Jack and Danny left the lab after a few more questions. Jack didn’t really feel comfortable with letting Danny be homeless, but Danny assured him that he would find a place to crash. Danny told Jack that he wanted to talk to Vlad about what happened, though, when he was ready.

“I’m not homophobic, I promise that is not what that was about. I told you that I was going through some issues, right? Vlad reminded me of someone from my past, I guess.”

Jack and Danny ended up getting coffee together and talking about Jack’s life, and about ghosts, which Danny agreed were real. They ended up having a real good time.

“You know, you aren’t half bad, D.”

“Well, I’m certainly half something.” Danny laughed at his own private joke.

“But seriously, I would let you crash for a while if you hadn’t punched Vladdie.”

“I appreciate it, Jack, but I’m pretty good at surviving. I would like to keep hanging out though, if that’s cool with you.”

“I’d like that, D.”

“You are calling me D now?”

“You earned a nickname from me. It’s a compliment, trust me on this one.”

The two parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any errors.  
> I am grateful to those who encouraged me to continue. I am having fun writing this, even if I'm not that good at it.  
> Let me know if you have any suggestions or questions.


	5. November 1982

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Danny spend more time together. Thanksgiving plans are in the works.

It was a mid-November night when Jack walked into his dorm, and shut the door. He threw his jacket over the doorknob, and walked to the kitchen area. He grabbed some fudge out of the fridge, and sat down on the couch. The door of the shared bedroom opened, and out walked Vlad. He strolled over the couch, and just stood and stared at Jack.

“Yes, Vladdie, is there something I can help you with?” He stuck out a large hand. “Want some fudge?”

“No, Jack, I do not want some fudge!” Vlad shrieked. 

“But everything is better with fudge.” Jack pouted.

“Look, Jack, I know what you’ve been up to, and I don’t approve.”

Jack frowned. “What do you have against needle-point?”

“Dammit, Jack, I know you’ve been having that Danny kid over when I’m not around.”

It was true. When Jack was home, and Vlad wasn’t, he did let D come over. He would make him coffee, and let him help himself to the fridge and shower. He even took a nap on that very couch a few times.

“Hey, I know you don’t like him very much, but he’s really not that bad. Besides, he’s homeless. I can’t let him starve.”

“Jack, he punched me! I’ve seen him around the city, too. The way that he looks at me is just off. He’s been shadowing in a few of my classes, too, telling people he’s prospective student, but I think he’s spying on me or something. It’s unnerving and not appropriate. I don’t want him here.”

“I understand, Vlad. I won’t bring him over anymore, but I’m still going to bring him food. The classes thing was actually my idea, to give him something to do. I know he feels bad about punching you. Maybe if you tried to talk to him?”

Vlad sat down and grabbed some fudge. “So what are your plans for Thanksgiving? Same as last year?”

The rest of the week went well. Danny seemed a little irritated that he couldn’t come over anymore, but ultimately understanding. The two continued to hang out elsewhere, sometimes just the two of them, and sometimes with Maddie. They would discuss many things, ghosts, science, and movies. Danny often would ask about Vlad.  
“So, does he have any other friends? Besides you and Maddie?”

“He hangs out with Maddie’s roommate Harrie sometimes, but only if Maddie is there too. Vladdie doesn’t have a lot of friends. He’s a great guy, he’s just usually pretty reserved. I think that’s part of why we are such good friends. I feel so lucky that we ended up being assigned as roommates last year.”

Jack always thought that Danny looked kind of sad when he talked like that. He wasn’t positive, since he wasn’t always the best at reading people, but when he brought it up to Maddie in private she agreed. She suggested that maybe the reason he looked so lost all the time had something to do with his own old roommate or best friend. All they could really get out of Danny about his past was that he was that he needed answers.

It was Wednesday, November 24th, the day before Thanksgiving. Danny was hanging out with Maddie and Jack. “So, are either of you going home for Thanksgiving?”

Both students laughed. “Not if can get away with it,” said Maddie. “My family is so old-fashioned that it is painful. My parents think that women shouldn’t work outside the home, and grace takes longer than the meal.” 

Jack had met Maddie’s family once. He had been her plus one at her sister Alicia’s wedding. Maddie had said that if she didn’t bring a man with her, that her parents wouldn’t stop trying to fix her up with one, so he gone along and pretended to be her boyfriend, or ‘courting her’, as her parents are so oddly phrased it.

“I told them that I was going to Illinois to spend it with Jack’s family, just like last year.”

“You are?” Danny asked.

“Nope!” Maddie said, cheerfully. “And I didn’t last year, either!”

“My father,” said Jack, “doesn’t even have a phone. I don’t think he’d even let me in if I showed up, he’d probably accuse me of being brainwashed by the commies or something.”

The Fenton men all tended to have some type of paranormal obsession, and Jack’s father was no different. He was obsessed with the idea of the end of the world. He had raised Jack in a rural town that was somewhat ironically named Farmer City in Illinois. He lived in an off-the-grid log cabin, and grew his own food. His dad had been convinced that going to college was going to turn Jack into a Communist. Jack’s dad was very concerned about communists.

Maddie got a devious look in her eye. “This year, we are going to do the same thing we did last year, and you are going to come with us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: DRANKSGIVING!!!


	6. Tokesgiving 1982

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I was originally going to call this chapter 'Dranksgiving', and have the tradition be a pub crawl, but then I woke up at midnight knowing that it had to be marijuana instead.

It was the morning of Thursday, November 25th, 1982. Jack, Maddie, Vlad, and Danny were on the grounds of a mansion that shaped like a castle. The bricks were yellow, and designed to look like pieces of cheese.

“Why the heck did you guys drag me out here?” Danny asked.

Vlad snorted. “Well, you can always go home. Or wherever bar you’ve been passing out at.”

“Come on, Vladdie, don’t be like that. Today is a day for joining together and giving thanks.”

“Don’t tell me you already took a hit, big guy.” Vlad looked at Jack, crossly.

Danny looked confused. “A hit?”

“Oh, for heavens sake, did you two even tell him what we are doing? What if Danny isn't 'cool'?"

“Jack and I agreed it would be more fun this way,” Maddie said, as she fished around in her pocket. She smiled triumphantly and held up an object for all to see. It was a tightly wrapped marijuana cigarette. “Besides, Danny is so cool.”

Jack wasn’t so sure he agreed with her last statement anymore. He looked over at Danny, whose eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. “You guys smoked? Like, pot smoke smoked?”

“What’s the matter, Danny, not as ‘cool’ as Maddie seems to think?” Vlad smirked. “Never had reefer before?”

Danny looked indignant. “For your information, I have smoked before. My parents caught me doing it, actually.” He looked hard at Jack and Maddie as he said this. “And they were super pissed! Like, super, ultra, mega pissed!”

Maddie pulled out out a teal colored disposable lighter. “Well, my parents would be, too. We can’t all be perfect princesses like Alicia.”

Danny stared at Maddie, and then shook his head a little, as if to clear it. “Well, what if we get caught? Weed is illegal in 1982, right?”

“That’s why we are here,” said Vlad. “That eyesore of a building is my uncle’s house.”

“It is?” Danny looked shocked. 

“The man has a screw or two loose, and he’s been sick. He isn’t going to see us, and even if he does, he isn’t going to care.”

Danny reached for joint in Maddie’s hand. “Never mind, I’m going to need to get high in order to deal with all of this.” Maddie flicked lighter on, and reached over. Danny inhaled a few times, until the end finally ignited. 

The man didn’t get much in before Vlad reached over and swiftly stole the joint. “I’m going to need to get high in order to deal with Danny being here.” Vlad inhaled slowly while Danny glared at him. Vlad soon passed it over to Jack, who had his turn, and handed it over to Maddie.

“How do I tell if it is working?” asked Danny. “I don’t think it’s working.”

The joint made another round, this one slower, and in complete silence. Maddie was the first to speak. “Guys. I just thought of something. What if we are the ghosts, and what we think are ghosts, are really the humans?”

“Whoa….” said Jack, looking at his large hands.

“I think it’s working.” Danny started to fidget around a little. “How can I tell if it’s working?”

Vlad’s eyes started to look a little wet. “I think my uncle is dying. He has cancer. Everyone in my family keeps bothering him, trying to get a piece of the King Family Dairy Farms fortune. Why don’t they understand? The man just wants to be left alone.”

“Left alone, dontcha know?” Danny echoed, using a perfect North Central American accent..

Vlad pointed at Danny. “Yes! That is exactly how my uncle says it!”

“I am supposed to be looking for someone” Danny suddenly confessed.

“Does that someone have fudge? Because I want to look for them too” Jack gave Maddie a high-five.

“I just don’t understand. It is 1982. Isn’t it 1982, Vlad?”

“Yes.” Vlad answered tersely. “It’s 1982.”

Maddie told Jack that she had a Twinkie in her purse. 

“Isn’t 1982 two years before 1984?”

“It is.” said Vlad, his tone unchanging.

“And isn’t it true? Isn’t it true, Vlad that the year 1984 was 20 years before 2004?”

“It will be, but yes. Where are you going with this Danny?” Vlad was looking at Danny like he was thinking about punching him.

Maddie and Jack were currently crawling on the lawn, looking for Maddie’s purse.

“If it is 1982, two years before 1984, and twenty two years before 2004, then tell me, Vladimir Masters, why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

When Maddie finally realized that she had left her purse in her dorm room, she and Jack went back over to Vlad and Danny. Vlad was laying on his back in grass. Danny was on top of him, straddling his hips. The men were passionately making out.

“Excuse me,” said Jack, towering over the two entangled men, “do you think we can ask your uncle if we can have some cheese? Maddie and I are starving ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh hello dere kiddos! Any friend of Vlad's is a friend of mine, dontcha know? I know Jack and Maddie over there, but who are you?”

“My name is Danny. Danny Aldrin, apparently.”

“Well, try the Gouda, Danny Aldrin! It’s dairy fresh!”


	7. December 1982

After Thanksgiving, the ban on Danny being allowed at their dorm had been lifted. Jack didn’t see Vlad and Danny kiss or even do any touching that close friends wouldn’t do after that day. The two were really close for people who had just started hanging out though, and to Jack it sometimes felt like Danny had always been there, always a part of their group.  
He found out that Danny had gotten a job doing construction work. Danny excitedly told his friends about, appearing marveled that the foreman hadn’t even wanted to see his ID or do a background check, and paid him in cash. 

“So D, are you getting your own apartment now?” Jack wasn’t sure where exactly Danny had been staying, but it kind of worried him that he was on his own.

“Eh, I don’t quite make enough for that. I’ve just been tossing some money to whoever I meet at the bar who is cool with me crashing for a few nights.”

Vlad and Danny were sitting next to each other on a large armchair, legs pressed together. Jack was on the couch by himself. Jack was going to voice his concerns to Danny, but Vlad beat him to it. “I don’t like the idea of you staying with weird drunk strangers. You can stay here.”

A smile broke out on Danny’s face. He nudged Vlad playfully in the ribs with his elbow. “I thought I was the weird, drunk stranger, eh?” Vlad shot Danny a dirty look. “But it’s okay because I’m your weird, drunk stranger.” Jack tilted his head a little. Was this normal behavior for people who were just friends? Jack wasn’t exactly the best judge of things like that. “I would love to stay here, if it’s okay with Jack?”

Jack startled a little, pulled from his thoughts. “Yes! Absolutely. You can stay as long as you need you, at least until Summer.” Would he even be around that long? Jack wondered if and when the man would be ready to return to wherever he was from in Michigan. 

That night, Danny stayed over. They had microwaved hot dogs, and then watched a little TV together until bed. Vlad and Jack went to their shared bedroom, and Danny slept on the couch.

 

They didn’t see Maddie again until a few days later. This time, Maddie was on the couch next to Jack, and Vlad and Danny were curled up on the customary chair. “Aren’t you two cramped like that?” she asked. “There is room for one more person on the couch.”

Danny shrugged his shoulders. Vlad snickered a little and exchanged a glance with Danny, like there was some sort of a private joke. 

“They always sit like that.” Jack told her. “It’s just how Vladdie and The D do.”

Vlad burst out in a fit of laughter, and a look of horror crossed Danny’s face. He playfully smacked Vlad, and his laughter quieted down to the occasional titter and shakes. “Yeah,” said Danny, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. You gotta come up with a better nickname for me.”

Jack looked and felt hurt. He prided himself in coming up with nicknames for people.  
Danny must have notice the hurt. “No, it’s just that ‘The D’ is slang for something where I come from, and it makes me like really uncomfortable when you call me that.”

“What does it mean?” Maddie asked, ever the inquisitive scientist. 

“Yeah, nope, I’m not telling.” Danny paused to give Vlad, who had started laughing again, a dirty look. “I already told this one over here, and yeah, instant regret.”

The way Danny spoke was a little strange sometimes. It wasn’t always noticeable, but he sometimes used phrases and such that Jack never heard before. Jack had grown up in Michigan as well, in Farmer City, and hadn’t heard of the phrase ‘The D’ meaning anything before, but he would respect him. He didn’t want to make his friend uncomfortable, but nicknames were a Jack Thing, something he did to show affection. 

“How about I call you D-Drin?”

“Great idea!” Danny said. “I never would have thought of that.”

And so from then on, that was what Jack called him.


	8. Summer 2012

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For those who wanted some insight on why Danny went back in time

Jack knocked on the Danny’s bedroom door. The boy was about to turn 20 in a cople weeks, and had fairly recently moved back in with his parents. He had gotten an apartment with Sam after graduation, but the two of them ended up breaking up a few months earlier, and Danny moved back home. 

When no one answered, Jack opened the door. He had already known that no one was inside. He already knew where Danny was before he even knocked, thanks to tip-off from a very concerned Jazz. His daughter was not the type to go running for help, she liked to solve problems herself and keep people’s secrets, so Jack knew that it must have been going on a while, and must be pretty bad. Jack left the light off and waited on the bed.

Sure enough, before too long, Danny Phantom came phasing through the wall, along with a knapsack that was full of something clinking. “Oh, hey dad. Just coming back from fighting a ghost.”

Jack hadn’t looked forward to this, but he was the boy’s father, and both he and Jazz agreed he should try before getting Maddie involved. When his wife had caught him smoking pot, she had freaked out, and Jack didn’t think that type of reaction would help. “I know what’s in the bag, son.”

Danny Phantom looked up quick. “You should. It’s ghost-hunting equipment you developed.” 

“Son…”

Danny Phantom hoisted the bag onto to his shoulder and made to leave, when Jack held up a remote and pressed the big button. He hated to activate the ghost shield that included Phantom’s ghost signature, but this was for his own good. He had to talk to his son about his drinking and drug problem.

Danny floated to the bed, and transformed back to human with a sigh. “Jazz told you, didn’t she?”

Jack puffed his chest up in pride. “As if I couldn’t tell that something was wrong with my own son.” He relied on bravado when he was anxious. Perhaps he was where his son got that from. He became a little more serious. “We need to talk, son.”

Danny got defensive. “So I have a couple drinks and now and then, what gives? I’ll be 21 next year anyway, I’m not a kid anymore.”

That opened up another question, of course, which Danny seemed to follow. “And I’m not stealing them, if that’s what your worried about. I leave the cash on the counter for them to find in the morning.”

Jack moved to put a hand on Danny’s shoulder. When he moved away, Jack didn’t try again. “Look, what you have been doing, with the alcohol and drugs, it isn’t healthy.”

“Drugs?” Danny exploded. “It’s not ‘drugs’, Dad, it’s just marijuana, and I don’t even do it that much.”

Jack thought back to both of the Thanksgivings he had spent with D-DRin all those years ago. Danny had mentioned that his parents had gotten pissed at him for smoking pot. He already knew what Maddie’s reaction had been, but he had yet to blow up about it. Was he supposed to? Jack wondered. All of this time-travel business made Jack’s head hurt. All he knew for sure was that whatever happened to D-Drin, to Danny, to make him go back to all those years ago was about to happen soon.

Jack had tried to put it out of his mind for years. Ever since he looked at that picture when Danny was 15, he tried to tell himself that he was wrong. Maybe it was different person. Maybe there was another clone and they had time travel powers. He and his wife had been introduced to and adopted Danielle the winter after the picture incident. He knew his son had been cloned before . He didn’t have any reason to think that Danny or anyone he knew could time travel though.

Jack settled on keeping his reaction genuine and sincere. “Mind-altering substances can be okay when done in small doses. What you are doing is not healthy, and not responsible. You could wind up seriously hurting yourself or somebody else.”

“And that’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it?” Danny got up and began to pace. “Danny Phantom is a super hero. Danny Phantom is a role model. Danny Phantom should be helping old ladies cross the street and kissing babies, Danny Phantom isn’t allowed to have any of his own problems, or his own emotions, or, Clock-Work forbid, his own ways of coping with them!”

“Clock-Work forbid?”

Danny threw up his hands. “There’s no proof of God, but I’ve met Clock-Work. Not the point though.”

Still, talking about something else for a second seemed to calm him down just a fraction. Danny sighed and sat back down. His son really did look more and more like the young man in the photo as the years went by. There was no denying that. Jack had not breathed a single word of it to Maddie. He had begun to look for similarities and landmarks. He tried to remember things D-Drin had said about his life, and use them to pinpoint when and how it had occurred. Things had seemed really serious between Danny and Sam for a while there, and those were the years he denied it the most. Jack had no problem with gay or bi people of course, and it felt weird for him to be looking for signs that his son was, when he normally would pry or care. 

“That actually is kind of the point, though.” Danny was looking at his shoes while talking. “I’ve been feeling all kinds of- gross feelings, Dad. Rage out of nowhere, sadness. Sometimes, something won’t go my way, and I’ll just get so angry, and I’ll think why did that happen, you know? I’ll think, hey, I have ghost powers, and if I wanted to, I could just take anything I want. Make people listen to me, fear me. That this whole town should be grateful to me for not frying them to a crisp instead of expecting me to walk on water.”

Danny’s shoulder shook a little. “I hate myself for thinking like that, I really do. Then I’ll spend days where I wonder what it would be like if I died for real when I was 14, how everyone’s lives would be better.” He looked up and caught his dad’s concerned look, and clarified. “I would never really kill myself, it just helps me feel better when I think about it? For some reason.”

It hurt to hear, but Jack was grateful his son was finally talking about it. “I’m here for you.”

“I know, Dad. Mom and Jazz and Tucker are too.” Jack never really knew what happened with Sam, just that it had broken his son’s heart and was apparently bad enough for Tucker to have stopped being friends with her as well. “I just feel so alone still. I hate admitting that. Loads of people actually are alone, and I know I’m lucky to have my family and friends. There is nobody else that really understands what I’m going through, and how I’ve been feeling. I’ve tried talking to Jazz about it, and she thinks the mood swings may be ghost-power related, and I agree. I just wish…”

Jack didn’t have to hear the words to know who he wished he could talk to. “I know it’s not the same, but have you tried talking to Danielle?”

Danny smiled a little. “She like a sister to me, and I’m glad she’s in our lives, but it’s not the same. She didn’t have an accident, Jazz and I figure the catalyst is probably the accident.”

“Catalyst?” For what, Jack wondered. Just what was going on with his son?

“Look, Dad, I’ve seen where the types of feelings I’m having can lead. I’ve seen the future.”

The future? A sinking sensation went through Jack’s body. Danny’s been to the future. “You can time-travel?” The mouth speaking the words felt numb.

“Not me. Clock-Work can.” Clock-Work. A blue ribbon flashed through his mind. A coin with the letters CW. “There was future where, to make a long story short, everyone I loved died, and I sort of turned evil. I fixed it, but the way I’ve been feeling since Sam left me, the rage and the hopelessness, it terrifies me.”

Danny looked at his father. “Can you tell me more about him?” Again, Jack knew who he meant. “What he was like before? He used to say we were alike. Maybe I’m finally going crazy. Now that I’ve lost someone, too.”

“I don’t think you are going crazy, son.” There no more words after that. He knew Danny would not be satisfied, but what could he say?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> This fic is not going to be continued. 
> 
> I have made the personal choice to stop writing and reading m/m fics. I am not a mlm myself, and I’m starting to feel self-conscious and fetish-y and weird about the amount of male slash I’ve been creating and consuming. 
> 
> Everything in moderation, folks! 
> 
> I’ll be keeping up my most popular existing mlm works, and I will keep posting gen, m/f, & f/f works. 
> 
> Thank you for your understanding!


End file.
